Mail box and the like



Feb. 5, 1935.

J. SCHLENKER MAIL BOX AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 27, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1m A N g, N

W J L J Inventor Q 1 (i i/7 Jfi/e/r/r Feb. 5, 1935. LENK R 1,990,003

MAIL BOX AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 27, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventorflllomey 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 J. SCHLENKER MAIL BOX AND THE LIKE Filed Aug.27, 1934 Feb. 5, 1935.

Inventor J07? fi/e fi/re r Patented Feb. 5, 1935 UNITED s'm'res QATEN1,990,003 MAIL BOX ANDTHE LIKE John Schlenker, Los Angeles', Calif.

Application August 27,

2 Claims. (Cl. 23235) My invention relates, generally to receptaclesarranged to receive and register the presence therein of parcels,packages, letters, and the like, and particularly to mail boxesespecially adapted for rural delivery use, and an important object of myinvention is to provide mail boxes of the character indicated which willindicate at a distance to the owner thereof the fact that a letter orpackage has been deposited therein, and an important object of theinvention is to provide simplified and efficient devices of thischaracter which do not readily get out of order and which unfailinglyindicate the presence or absence of packages or letters therein.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from areading of the following description in connection with the drawings,wherein for purposes of illustration 1 have shown referred embodimentsof my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through oneembodimentoi the invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l but showing the door and themechanism in the open position. I

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through Figure 1approximately on the line 3-3 and looking rearwardly in the direction ofthe arrows.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View through the forwardpart of Figure 1 showing the lever operating knob.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the over-balancingelement.

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of another embodiment having aportion thereof broken away to show the interior mechanism.

Figure '7 is a vertical transverse sectional view through Figure 6showing the door and the operating mechanism in the open positions.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure '7 showing the door and theoperating mechanism in the closed positions.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 refers generally .tothe horizontally elongated type of rural mail box casing having theupset riveted bottom 6, the rear wall 7 provided with the flangedopening 8 holding the transparent glass 9, and the front door lo'hingedby flanges 11 on opposite sides of the front of the box on the rivets12, the front door being provided with the sub-door 13 which swings inthe opening 14 which is the slot for receiving letters and small or flatpackages.

Attached to the back of the lower part of the door isa journal bracket15 oFFicr.

1934, Serial No. 741,676

in which is pivoted a lateral portion 16 on a rod 17 which has its rearend bent slightly downwardly as indicated at 18 and provided with an eye19 which is loosely circumposed on the straight elongated rod 20. Thefront end of the rod 20 is provided with an eye 21 which is loopedloosely through the holev 22 on the lower arm which is pivoted on athrough the left hand lever 24 depends from the foot portion 23 of theportion 26 of an L.-

bolt being located at the junction of 23 of the tiltable lever 24 bolt25 which passes side of the mail box. 1 The shaped portion 27, the pivotthe loot portion 26 and the standard portion of the lever.

An arcuate box slidably receives therethrough and has of said side ofthe whichv is arranged slot 28 in the same side of the mail a bolt 29which projects on its outer end outwardly finger knob 30 31 as shown inmail box a the weather from reaching the slot 28.

The rear end of the rod 20 is provided with an-' other eye 32 which eye33 on the lower fixed to the 'tiltable is loosely looped through the endof the arm 34 which is member 35 which has fixed thereto an car 36 whichis pivoted on the bolt 3'7,

which is mounted in box.

38 attached to the the left hand side of the mail A stop in the form ofan L-shapd bracket same side of the interior of the mail box is arrangedin such a position under the element 35 so that it forms a rest to holdthe element 35 in a horizontal position as shown in Figure l.

The element 35 is as shown in Figure dicated at 38 and p tubular and hasclosed ends 5, one end being solid as inrovided with a small opening 40and the opposite end being closed by a plug 41 likewise provided with anair opening 42.

The ear gravitational center 36 is located approximately at the ol theelement.

Attached under the rear end of the said element 35 is an arm throughwhich 43 provided with an eye 44 is loosely looped the eye 45 on thelower end of the link 46 whose upper end is provided with an eye in theleft hand end of the through a hole 48 signal arm 49 which casing by thepivot end the signal star through the glass in Figure 3 when 47 likewiseloosely looped is pivoted to the back of the 50 and has on its righthand 51 which is adapted to appear 9 in the opening 8 as shown the mailbox is empty, and is adapted to have a position out of said opening whenthere is mail tion of the signal st responds to the posi in the mailbox. The posiar 51 shown in Figure 3 cortion thereof shown in Figure 1,whereas Figure 2 shows the star in the position in which it is not inthe opening 8, and the owner of the mail box can then tell by theabsence of the star that there is mail in the mail box.

The signal is set by pushing the finger knob 30 rearwardly which causesthe lower part of the lever 24 to swing rearwardly and the upper part ofthis lever to swing forwardly. This movement of the lever 24 iscommunicated by the rod 30 to the tiltable element 35 so that thetiltable element 35 is tilted rearwardly and the ball weights 52 thereinrolled to the rear end thereof and have the tendency to maintain theposition shown in Figure 2 wherein the signal star 51 is elevated out ofthe position shown in Figure 3, and the parts changed from the positionshown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 1 wherein the tiltablemember 35 is in a horizontal position and the weighting balls 52 are atthe forward end thereof and the signal star 51 is in front of the window8. It will be observed that the door 10 is, because of the slidingmounting of the eye 19 of the arm 17 on the rod 20, independent of themovement of the rod 20 and its connections until the door 10 is closedas shown in Figure 1. the door 10 be opened while the parts are in thepositions shown in Figure 1 it is obvious that the link 17 will pullagainst the lower end of the lever 24 if the door be opened, so as tocause tilting of the tiltable member 35 into the position shown inFigure 2, with consequent withdrawal upwardly of the signal star into aposition out of the sight opening. Closing of the door subsequent tothis does not have any effect upon the disposition of the parts, so thatabsence of the star in the sight opening indicates to the owner of themail box that there is mail therein.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 7 and 8, the casing 60 is of thevertically elongated type having the hinged front 61 hinged as indicatedat 62 and stopping as indicated at 63 at a level below that of the rearwall 64. The top edges of the side walls 65 slant downwardly andforwardly as indicated at 66 except for the horizontal portion 67 onwhich is a cross piece 68 to the forward angulated edge of which isconnected the hinge 69 which mounts the flap or door '70 the outer edgesof which are arranged to rest on the upper edges 66 and the angulatedtop edge 63a when in the closed position as indicated in Figure 8.

Depending from the bottom of the door 70 is the journal bracket 71 whichhas journals therein a lateral portion 72 on the upper end of adepending link 73 which has a curved upper portion indicated at '74 anda lateral arm '75 on its lower end. The arm 75 works loosely in a slot'76 in a retainer member 77 in the upper part of the box at the lefthand side thereof. Pivoted on a bolt 78 anchored to the side 79 asindicated is the ear 80 on the lower side of the tiltable member 81which in the closed position of the cover or door 70 has the horizontalposition indicated in Figures 6 and 8 wherein the signal disk 82attached to the front end of the element 81 is remote from thetransparent window 83 suitably supported in an opening 84 in the side ofthe box. In the open position of the cover or door 70 the tiltableelement 81 is in the position shown in Figure 7 wherein the signal disk82 is located before the sight opening to indicate to the owner of thebox that mail is in the box. Like the tiltable element in the firstdescribed embodiment the tiltable element 81 contains weighting balls 85which shift toward one end or the other of the element 81 according asthe same is tilted. The tiltable member has on its rear end a rightangularly related arm 86 to whose lower or outer end is loosely loopedthe eye 87 on the upper end of the resetting rod 88 which has the largefinger loop 89 on its lower end. It is obvious that by opening the front61 by hinging the same forwardly that the re-setting rod 88 will beexposed and may be drawn downwardly so as to place the parts in theposition shown in Figure 8, wherein the arm '75 of the depending link 73is under the tiltable element 81. If with the parts in the positionsshown in Figure 8 the mailman opens the top or door 70, the result willbe that the link 73 will draw the rear end of the tiltable member 81upwardly and cause the balls 85 therein to run to the front end thereofand tilt the tiltable member downwardly into the position shown inFigure 7, whereat the signal disk 82 will be in full sight before thesight opening and the owner of the mail box will be advised of thepresence of a letter or the equivalent in the mail box.

Although I have shown and described herein preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire tolimit the application of the invention thereto, and any change orchanges may be made in material and structure and arrangement of parts,within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a device of the character described comprising a casing, aswingable door on the casing, a pivoted indicator for indicatingexteriorly of the box the presence and absence of articles in the boxwhich the box is arranged to receive through the opening thereof closedby said door, and means connected to the door and connected to saidindicating means for operating said indicating means into indicatingposition when the door is opened from an initial closed position, saidindicating means comprising a tiltable cylindrical member includinggravitationally operated means therein for holding the tiltable memberin either of two general positions.

2. In a device of the character described comprising a casing, aswingable door on the casing, a pivoted indicator for indicatingexteriorly of the box the presence and absence of articles in the boxwhich the box is arranged to receive through the opening thereof closedby said door, and means connected to the door and connected to saidindicating means for operating said hidicating means into indicatingposition when the door is opened from an initial closed position, saidindicating means comprising a tiltable cylindrical member includinggravitationally operated means therein for holding the tiltable memberin either of two general positions, and means connected to said pivotalmember for manually re-setting the same to said initial position afteroperation out of said initial position.

JOHN SCl-ILENKER.

